Lead Designer, Design Systems & Excellence

Requisition ID: 240768

Join a purpose driven winning team committed to results in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

This Lead Designer role reports into the Director of Design Systems & Excellence and is both strategic and hands-on: steering brand/UI direction and governance while also coaching and pairing with designers in the work.

About the Role

Were looking for a strategic and hands-on Lead Designer to drive the evolution adoption and governance of our enterprise design system. This role sits at the heart of our digital design practice leading the creation of scalable UI components defining design standards and partnering across disciplines to ensure consistency accessibility and excellence in user experience. Youll be a systems thinker and craft mentor guiding designers and engineers in applying the system effectively while continuously improving its structure documentation and contribution model.

What Youll Do

System Design & Development

• Design build and maintain scalable reusable UI components patterns and design tokens for use across platforms
• Define and evolve design language interaction models and accessibility standards to ensure cohesive inclusive experiences
• Partner with engineering to ensure components are technically sound performant and accessible

Documentation Education & Governance

• Create clear comprehensive documentation for components usage guidelines and contribution processes
• Establish governance frameworks that balance consistency speed and creative flexibility
• Lead training onboarding and support efforts to promote adoption and correct usage across teams

Collaboration & Craft Leadership

• Work closely with designers and cross-functional teams to integrate the design system into workflows and product development
• Provide hands-on coaching feedback and mentorship to elevate design quality and system fluency
• Champion consistency and user-centered design across all digital touchpoints embedding accessibility and system thinking into everyday practice

What Youll Bring

• Extensive experience in design systems leadership: 12 years in digital product design with a strong track record of building scaling and governing enterprise-level design systems
• Expertise in UI and interaction design: deep understanding of component architecture responsive design accessibility and platform-specific best practices
• Proven delivery at scale: demonstrated success in driving system adoption across large cross-functional teams and integrating design systems into complex product ecosystems
• Strategic and hands-on mindset: able to set vision define standards and work directly with teams to bring systems to life in real-world applications
• Exceptional collaboration and coaching skills: skilled at mentoring designers facilitating cross-functional alignment and influencing through expertise and partnership
• Forward-thinking perspective: awareness of emerging design trends technologies and tools with the ability to translate them into actionable improvements for the system and team

Location(s): Canada : Ontario : Toronto

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: for every future we help our customers their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice products and services including personal and commercial banking wealth management and private banking corporate and investment banking and capital markets.

At Scotiabank we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you require accommodation (including but not limited to an accessible interview site alternate format documents ASL Interpreter or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process please let our Recruitment team know. If you require technical assistance please click here. Candidates must apply directly online to be considered for this role. We thank all applicants for their interest in a career at Scotiabank; however only those candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.